Wednesday, October 16th we welcome author Janice Thompson.
Dry Tinder is an historical novel based on the true story of the Towne sisters — three innocent, godly women who are falsely accused of witchcraft in 1692. Ms. Thompson offers a new perspective, as the narrative starts in 1670, a full twenty-three years before young girls begin accusing their elders of witchcraft. The trials are not a strange anomaly of history: Were the children possessed? Did witchcraft actually run rampant in Salem Village? Was it something strange that just….happened? Instead, told through the perspective of Sarah Towne, the story becomes personal. The hysteria grows from the extreme polarization and struggles of the Salem Village people at the time, including boundary disputes, the harsh judgment of their Puritan faith, wars with the native tribes and the sometimes troubled relationship between the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Mother England.
Janice Thompson is a writer and co-founder of Harpswell News, a new nonprofit launched in 2021 to publish the monthly Harpswell Anchor newspaper.
She is a lover of local history and fascinating, character-driven stories. She served as a board member and then president of the board of trustees at the Framingham History Center before moving to Maine in 2017.
Her day job is to run the Harpswell News nonprofit organization. She is a veteran fundraiser with 35+ years of experience at places like MIT, Harvard and the Boston Athenaeum. Before co-founding Harpswell News she served as Director of Development at the Harpswell Heritage Land Trust.
We are proud to participate in Mass Cultural Council’s Card to Culture program.
Speaker Series, typically, every 3rd Wednesday, 7pm.
Including a temporary exhibit of related artifacts from the Society’s collections.
Tapley Memorial Hall 13 Page Street, Danvers MA.
Danvers Historical Society: 978-777-1666 or E-mail to dhs@danvershistory.org
Donations appreciated.